Sunday Session Part 1

Here I am finally writing what this blog was meant to be about, whats going on now (or in the past week or so). Sunday, first one in February 2011 was bloody windy, with a grey over cast sky, but not to cold. I put the Session in my car and headed to the local for an early start, it's not even 9am yet. I've got big plans of getting the landing built for a tasty 25ft plus step down over a berm, which is just after the Acid Drop! Once built should be seriously fun stuff. Once there i do a bit of filming on the bottom half of the new GnarTech DH line. Which is all natural off camber switch backs, then long off camber straight section into a tight left hander, onto a long right hander berm which is flat out, with a table just after that, which needs a bit of work doing to it still, then another long straight with another jump into the landing i'm going to build, this will end up being hipped. Once i've finished filming that section i started on the landing, which takes up a good two and half hours. I wanted to session it, but it was way to windy, so will have to wait for another day. Then its back to the top of the hill for more digging but on yet another tech line, there's a teaser on the film at the end of what to come...

Heres a link to pinkbike to watch the video in HD http://www.pinkbike.com/video/187262/

Enjoy...

Aston Hill

Aston Hill September 2010 was my first proper race. So I didn't really know what to expect. I went with Russ and Brian and Simon, all had been racing before, Simon and Russ had both done loads of DH racing, with Russ grabbing 6th at the last Aston Hill Black Run race earlier in the year.

Day one, Saturday was practice day, which went well. Only a couple of minor crashes. I couldn't get over how steep it got, the top was really flat with loads of peddling and couple of jumps, then loads of off camber corners, then the hill just got steeper and steeper, with loads of switch back berms. All in all great fun to ride.

Day two, Sunday was Race day, practise for me went really well, did a few full runs, and mucked about on the top section a lot, as there was a fairly big jump on to the fire road, which was loads of fun, just trying to hit faster and faster. Russ wasn't so lucky with a crash in the off camber section, managed to make a mess of his elbow and had to go to hospital which was a massive shame. Brian was first down the hill out of us lot and came in 1:12.63 grabbing 15th in Masters, Next down was Simon 1:10.78 placing him 28th. Then it was my turn, this being my first race, i was just wanting to have fun, not take it to seriously. I set off, hammered it down the first flat out top section and over the kicker, sending proper big, with massive cheers from the crowd, going fast into the off camber section, then disaster struck. My chain came off!!! Well came off between the chainring and bash guard so I could still peddle, but not properly. It felt like i just cruised the rest of the track, staying off the breaks and trying to peddle. I ended up with a 1:10.35 somehow placing 25th!!! even with a mechanical i'd managed to get a top 30! I was chuffed to say the least.

I headed back to the Van, fixed up my bash guard so that the chain wouldn't come off again, and went back to watch Brian's second run, which he shaved nearly another 2 seconds off his time finishing 13th in Master! To say i'm stoked for him would be an understatement.

Then it was my turn which would never happen. One of the other riders had a massive crash on there second run and had to be air lifter out with suspected broken neck, hopefully the guy was alright and is riding a bike again. we had to leave as it was getting late, they did finally restart the race but not till we'd left. Placing Simon 32nd and myself 30th, i was still pleased with my result, but really wanted that second run, but these things happen. there is always next year.

I got back home and started packing for Whistler...

More on that next time.

Summers Here!

Spring came and went incredibly fast, it was mostly dry and warm. We managed to get a lot of digging done at the local spot ready for the summer. The lads had offered me a place on their trip to the Alps later in the summer for the Mountain Style Comp and the rest of the week to riding. But had to turn it down as i'd just booked flights to Canada, and ultimately a road trip up to Whistler AKA the mecca of mountain biking in North America (if not the world).

So the booking of my trip to Vancouver and Whistler had brought on some new goals for the summer. I knew i was going to have to get fitter for starters to help deal with the arm pump i was possibly going to get. I'd made the mistake when i went to the Alps back in 08 of not training before i went and so suffered a massive amount of arm pump, which bloody hurts and make it impossible to hold onto the handlebars. I didn't want this happening again.

So I thought about getting gym membership and working out. But the thought of being surrounded by pumped up guys with little dicks wasn't my cup of tea, plus the idea of running on a tread mill getting literally nowhere doesn't really tickle my pickle. So I settled for more riding and digging. Which in turn complement each other, with new trails and jumps comes better technique and ability on a bike. This was starting to take effect, the jumps were getting bigger all the time, one of the doubles being over 30ft, with more technical lines in to them as well, and so a new exercise is starting to set in, in the form of mental exercise. Being physically fit isn't mush of a problem to me, having the bollocks to hit a 20ft or 30ft Gap stepdown for the first time, was kinda new. I'd been doing tables for years, but after a hard crash when i was in my teens I'd lost my confidence doing doubles. So I was back to square one again doing this kinda thing. so i set myself the challenge of taking on one jump at a time and getting that dialled before moving on to the next.

One Year Ago

So a year ago i bumped in to my then next door neighbor, Russ Clark. He mentioned some wood near by that he rode at, which had some fun lines and some big doubles, and that i should go ride them sometime. Sounding like the sort of thing i'd like i planned to go, however it was about 6 weeks before i managed to head down there, as my Giant had been stolen from me just up the road from where i lived and so was preoccupied with that. that a side i managed to get a sunday off, and got my ass up to the local woods on the Trek Session.

Not knowing what to expect, but i had been here some 10 years ago when i'd just got my Orange Patriot. i remember a wicked Dual Slalom Line which has since been reworked. So i get there about midday, the suns out, it's probably the first warmish day of the year about 12-15c it's February after all. i'm riding along this bit of single track which looks like dog walkers use it to, so i know its not the main trail, and out of the corner of my eye i see the start of a line with a wooden drop just sticking out the hill. i realize at this moment but this isn't going to be Sherwood Pines. I keep going along the single track until i can hear voice, under a low branch of a tree and out in to an opening with a fairly big 4 set of dirt jumps. Plus there was loads of people up there, Russ was filming with a friend of his that day if i remember correctly, and there were some other people who i'd get to know in due course (Brian, Maks, Sheldon, Anthony plus maybe some others i cant remember). Russ showed me the DH line which has two Doubles on it, neither of which i did that day, but went round them instead. I remember being totally shocked at just how big all the jumps were and how fast and high Russ was hitting them. I left after only an hour or so, feeling humiliated by the fact i couldn't hit any of the jumps but determined  to come back and have a proper go at it.

I know i went back the following weekend and probably the weekend after that, with different tires, pads and my full face helmet, and slowly one jump at a time conquered the two doubles on the DH line and rode the old DH line which was loads of fun too.

Sometime in March i went to Woburn and Chicksands with the Lads (Russ, Brian, Sheldon) for the first time, we traveled down there in Bri's van, it was bloody cold. the ground was frozen. Having not been there before, there was a crazy amount of lines going on i such a small patch of hill, with jumps and stepdowns over one another, it was mental, didn't really know where to start. Bri had been the summer before, so he showed the way. i had a great day, and tuck a lot of ideas back to Nottingham with us.

Having Decided on the way back from Woburn that we needed to do some serious digging back at the local woods, we meet up there the following weekend and got started on a new line. this was the point at which i started to become a regular to the woods, and so helped out with a bit of digging, which soon turned in to a lot of digging. With the weather getting better and longer days, we were meeting up after work and in my case before work to get on with digging the new lines we had thought out. before we knew it we had some really good lines, which are still used every weekend with out fail.

The end of March i went to Cannock Chase with the lads, i drove there with Russ, getting there nice and early, we hit the red run full force, this isnt to technical just flat out, big berms, a double stepdown, and some badly made kickers in to berms. but there's some cool northshore, a fairly big drop in to a massive blown out berm into a big tabletop (which isn't there now, just as well because it wasn't that good) and pumptrack which come back to. It was great to be on a flat out trail, reminded me of the alps, blasting down the Les Gets red run. then we had a go on the pump track on the way back up, which isn't my cup of tea, basically because i suck at pumping the bike (note to self, get better at pumping the bike). The third time round i lost it on a berm, front wheel went over the top and hit a tree stump and i went over the bars, and whacked my ribs into the bars, winded myself badly, but walked away, back to the top and another go at the red run. Something didn't feel right, but kept riding all day. Later that week it would turn out i'd broken at least one rib. So that was my first bad injury of the year/last 10 years.

I then set about building a small northshore gap on the new line at the local woods, the same day we were celebrating the clocks going forward, it was finally spring and the sun was out we had a BBQ on the go and it looked like it was gonna be a great year of riding. My riding had come on leaps and bounds since that first day i'd come down at the end of feb, all intimidated and scried. i was now hitting the same doubles as Russ and Bri on the DH line, and hitting the new line we'd built as fast and hard as the others. I was proud of pushing myself every weekend and setting myself new goals each week.

A little about how it started...

This is my first blog, which contains a fairly comprehensive history of how i got into mountain biking and how i got to where i am today. Then in the next blog i'll talk about what i've been up to in the last year, how my riding has developed and what i have planned for the year ahead. then after that I'm hoping to write a weekly blog with photos and films of that weeks action and digging. this first ones a bit boring, but i hope as i get used to doing this it will become more relaxed and easier to read. Thanks for reading, Ben...

So going back 15 years to 1996, when i was just 11. My cousin came over to England from Australia for about 9 months to say with us. He was 16 back then, and a keen mountain biker, he introduced me to this wonderful sport. So i pleaded with my Dad to by me my first Mountain Bike, a Releigh Ascender (fully Rigid) 15gears, i loved that bike. After 9 months of riding it up at my local wood, Bramcote park. My cousin went back to Australia, but left his bike behind in the UK for me to have, his was a Releigh Summit wit Rock Shox Magnesium series 2 suspension forks up front, 18 gears with Shimano XT groupset, this bike was the mutts nuts. A year later i managed to ride into a post box and bent the down tube, cant really remember how i managed this. But this meant i need a new frame, and so my Dad scraped some pennys together to by me a new frame a Voodoo Hoodoo (which believe they still make) it was metallic midnight blue, and a thing of complete beauty and that Christmas i was given a pair of Rock Shox Indy XC Forks. This bike lasted me a couple of years until i was mugged on my way home from riding at the local trails one sunday, and it was gone. Some ten days later the insurance had paid out. Orange Missile was the next ride of choice, they'd only been out a few week and was told my my local bike shop that i'd bought the first one in Nottingham, sweet. this was to be short lived as some 9 months later it was stolen from outside my parents workshop one afternoon. Again the insurance paid out and went for another Orange, this time the only just released Patriot, this was to be my first full suspension bike, back in 1998 this was the bike to have, even though i did think its wasn't that good, the manitou forks were slow and sluggish, and the Fox Shox on the back was Stiff and had a lack Dampening. This got stolen to, which proved to be a good thing in the end. Next up was a Santacruz Chameleon in bright orange with orange Marzocchi Bomber Z1 forks, this bike was the best thing since sliced bread, i loved this bike, i rode it place i'd never been before, it was a true all rounder, i did my first ever race on it, at Nottingham University, i can't remember what place i came. But i'm sure i was in the top 20. i'd later sell this bike to a friend of mine, in hindsight this was a massive mistake. But thats life. this ended the first half of my mountain biking life style. I would now concentrate on collage and learning to drive, owning a car and earning money.

It wasnt till i was 22 that i bought another bike and started riding again, partly due to not being able to afford to run my car, which meant i had to sell it. This was a heavy weight Kona Coiler, which i was using to commute to work, doing 100 plus miles a week and XC/Trail riding at the weekends. It was like driving a tank. This went one for a couple of years until the Kona was about dead and i was sick of having it fixed. At the end of 2007 i'd got myself a new job and with more money in my pocket i set about one of my dreams of owning a £3000 mountain bike, everything else had been half that and so this was gonna be a massive step forward for me and i was getting excited. I spent weeks and weeks searching the web and reading reviews. After all if i was gonna be spending this kind of money i need the bike to be just right. I knew i really wanted a DH bike, but also needed to be able to ride to work as well, so went for the best of both world. The Giant Raign X0 would be my new ride, a light Freeride/trail bike (light in comparison to the Kona i had).

This bike changed the way i looked at riding, before it was a means of travel to and from work, and in my teens just a bit of fun. Now i was determined to ride proper bike trail and go to trail centers and increase my fitness level and skills. So in the spring of 2008 i booked my first ever mountain bike to Les Gets in the French Alps for a week in August of DH riding. This was a massive eye opener, I realized this is the riding style i wanted so badly to do, which i hadn't really done much in the UK. But always liked the look of it. So i got back from the alps with a different focus, on improving my skills over technical terrain (roots/rocks), and also riding jumps and drops which at the time i sucked at, what with having a fairly big crash when i was in my teens, i'd never really had much confidence after that with doubles or drop. Then in 2009 i saved up enough money to buy a car again. this then aloud me to drive to trail centers and ride more technical trails than my local woods, which i did a couple of time a week, for the rest of the year.

At the end off 2009 i bought myself another new bike in the form of Treks Session 88 FR, this being a full on Freeride Bike, at about the same time my girl friend and i moved in to a flat together, not realizing  that living next door is a chap who's also a mountain biker. So for about 3 month we lived next to each other without knowing each other, until one morning we'd set off to work at the same time and bumped into one another, and so the rest is history as they say...

The photo thats at the top is a taster of where i am now, and what's to come...